Reiryoku
is a power aligned with the spiritual sensitivity and willpower of the user. It is used by Shinigami and other spiritual beings to provide power for their various abilities.Bleach manga; Chapter 59, page 15 Overview Every spiritual being and every Human has a certain amount of Reiryoku. If this amount is higher than a certain degree, it grants the person superhuman abilities. Those with such an above-average level of Reiryoku are very rare among living Humans. The most basic ability that Humans with a higher level of Reiryoku have is the ability to see ghosts: Pluses, Shinigami and Hollow alike.Bleach manga; Chapter 1, page 13 Shinigami are essentially souls in Soul Society with very high levels of Reiryoku who receive special training to utilize their powers.Bleach Official Character Book Souls, page 97 Reiryoku is most quickly increased when a Soul is in a life-or-death situation.Bleach manga; Chapter 60, page 17 Hollows and other spirits use their Reiryoku to catch their prey. Spiritual Power Levels Sensing Reiryoku Another basic ability that beings with higher-than-average levels of Reiryoku possess is the ability to sense other spiritual beings without relying on their five basic senses. This is possible because every spiritual being emits a certain amount of his/her own Reiryoku in the form of Reiatsu, which can be sensed. This ability apparently requires some innate skill, but can be increased with training. Initially, Ichigo Kurosaki's ability to sense the spiritual power of others was very poor, but gradually grew much more proficient in it, even being able to use various high-level techniques to locate or detect particular people, such as his close friends.Bleach manga; Chapter 34, pages 16-17''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 35, pages 14-18''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 417, page 5 Every spiritual being has a unique pattern to his/her emitted Reiryoku. One can recognize the pattern of their friends and acquaintances after some time, being able to sense their presence and their physical and mental state from relatively great distances.Bleach manga; Chapter 102, page 10 Sudden changes in Reiryoku pattern can mean that the person in question is in great stress (i.e. fighting) or has received a grave wound.Bleach manga; Chapter 334, pages 3-8''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 269, page 17''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 108, pages 22-23 Different types of spiritual beings have greatly different patterns, the Reiryoku pattern of Hollows for example is easily distinguishable from that of Pluses or a Shinigami. The Visored are a special case, because when their Hollow mask is donned, their pattern of Reiryoku resembles that of a Hollow, rather than that of a Shinigami.Bleach manga; Chapter 282, pages 5-6''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 237, page 8 There are a few possibilities to block Reiryoku. One is the usage of Sekkiseki, a special kind of stone that completely blocks Reiryoku from both sides. The walls of Seireitei, and the walls of the Senzaikyū are built from this stone. As Sekkiseki blocks even the strongest Reiryoku emissions, it does not just inhibit the sensing of one's Reiryoku pattern, but effectively closes out most unwanted visitors in the case of Seireitei, and prevents the escape of even the strongest prisoner from the Senzaikyū.Bleach manga; Chapter 104, page 10''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 116, page 30 Another means of blocking Reiryoku is a special garment invented by Kisuke Urahara, which completely hides any emission of Reiryoku coming from the wearer, enabling him/her to escape from somewhere or approach someone while being impossible to notice via sheer sensing of Reiryoku.Bleach manga; Chapter -101, pages 17-18 Any being with an extremely high Reiryoku will not have their Reiatsu be sensed at all by less powerful beings, without needing to conceal it; in a combat situation, this has only been shown by Sōsuke Aizen during his second fusion with the Hōgyoku in his battle with Isshin Kurosaki, Yoruichi Shihōin, and Kisuke Urahara, and once again by Ichigo Kurosaki after his Dangai training against Aizen himself.Bleach manga; Chapter 406, page 2''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 418 Controlling Reiryoku The aforementioned emission of spiritual power is a common and natural phenomenon, but a spiritual being can also control the degree of this emission, this usually requires a certain amount of skill and training.Bleach manga; Chapter 117, pages 9-10 By completely blocking his/her Reiryoku "pouring out", one can completely hide his/her presence from other spiritual beings and spiritually aware humans.Bleach manga; Chapter 168, page 11 On the other hand, amplifying this emission is known as , is considered a show of force, a means of intimidation or can even be an attack in itself. It can indeed paralyze opponents and cause direct damage to the surrounding individuals and inanimate objects alike.Bleach manga; Chapter 168, pages 12 & 16-17''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 409, pages 20-21 Aside from controlling the amount of emitted Reiryoku, most spiritual beings and some of Ichigo's spiritually-aware Human friends are capable of performing many superhuman feats with the help of their Reiryoku. These feats usually require a certain level of concentration, and they tend to tire the person after some time, or after performing some of them in quick succession.Bleach manga; Chapter 105, pages 11 It is also known, that after excessive usage of Reiryoku, Shinigami need food to replenish their strength, while on the other hand, the regular souls that dwell in Soul Society that do not use their Reiryoku do not need to eat.Bleach manga; Chapter 81, pages 4-5''Bleach'' Official Character Book Souls, page 96 For high-level Shinigami, such as captains and lieutenants, their spiritual pressure is so high, they can cause undesirable ripples in the Human World. As such, a seal is automatically placed onto them whenever they pass through the Senkaimon from Soul Society to the Human World, limiting their strength to 20% of their maximum output.Bleach manga; Chapter 210, pages 7-9 Under critical situations, such as the battle against the Espada, the seal is not applied even when the captains and lieutenants pass through the Senkaimon.Bleach manga; Chapter 355, pages 8-12 * Aside from Spiritual Pressure, Shinigami and Visored generally use their Reiryoku to ** cast Kidō spells''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 80, page 11 ** increase their speed (Hohō) ** use the special abilities of their Zanpakutō ** increase their physical strength and power * Hollows and Arrancar have other abilities, namely Cero and Bala, that are condensed Reiryoku fired towards the opponent. In the case of the former, it is done in a laser-like manner; in the latter case, the fired Reiryoku is bullet-like.Bleach manga; Chapter 234, page 12 Hollows and Arrancar can also increase their mobility like the Shinigami above, and the usage of their Zanpakutō also relies on the usage of Reiryoku, albeit in a different manner. Hierro is also a move that uses an Arrancar's Reiryoku for defense.Bleach manga; Chapter 195, pages 2-3 * Quincy can also increase their mobility, and form a weapon (usually a bow) with their Reiryoku. In their usage of Reiryoku, however, there is a fundamental difference from spiritual beings – they primarily rely on collecting Reishi from the environment, and use this collected Reishi to fight.Bleach manga; Chapter 49, pages 2-3''Bleach'' manga; Chapter 241, page 2 They can even collect and store Reiryoku in various special items.Bleach Official Character Book 2 MASKED, page 44 References Navigation Category: Important Terms